An Indian restaurant, in the depths of Orpington, in a seemingly unheard suburb named Petts Wood and with one very big name attached to it – Atul Kochhar. Who knew? Indian Essence opened in 2012 and whilst I’ve never heard of it before, I now wish it was my local Indian restaurant. It’s casual, close to the train station, very well-priced and both the food and service all help to make this feel like something special. Petts Wood locals are very lucky indeed.
Like any good Indian meal should start, we tucked into some light & crispy poppadoms, served with a selection of three home-made chutney’s which were absolutely exquisite. Good enough in fact that you only wish they had pots of them on sale to take home. The wine list is good here too so we washed these delicious crunchy poppadoms down with a bottle of refreshing New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.
To start out meal. Two excellent starters. Makali fry, which was crispy squid marinated with chilli and lime. And my favourite of the two – samosa chaat. A really well made tower of Punjabi style vegetable samosas, topped with mint, tamarind and yoghurt chutneys. If you love a good chaat as much as I do, make sure you order this.
First of our main courses to arrive and I think my favourite from the entire lunch was the tandoori murg. Char-grilled half a spring chicken, marinated with cinnamon and garam masala – plus a pouring makhni sauce which came on the side. The chicken was so juicy and tender, the spice coating was just the right intensity and that makhni sauce was a dream. Silky smooth, glossy and delicious. If you visit Indian Essence – don’t leave without trying this excellent plate of food. Though skip breakfast and come very hungry!
The sides this delicious main course came with were just as well executed. A fluffy and fragrant saffron infused rice, spiced cauliflower and potato in a tangy masala sauce, rich and decadent yellow dal – plus a good helping of naan breads. The latter could have been given a nice glossy butter glaze if being extra picky, but it was still lovely.
One dish I’ve been seeing pop-up in the new wave of high-end Indian restaurants is steak. I’ve never quite enjoyed it in an Indian restaurant to be honest, mostly because it ends up being overcooked in the tandoori oven – but that wasn’t the case here. In fact they got it spot on. Here they offer a juicy, charred piece of Angus fillet steak, smothered in spices and served in two-ways. The fillet was one, the other a rich and spicy beef Chettinad curry. I didn’t like the side of spiced gunpowder wedges (they felt a little shop bought) but otherwise this was a really excellent dish.
To finish, a simple but perfectly executed mascarpone & raspberry crème brûlée. Soft and gooey on the inside, crunchy and nicely browned on the top. The mascarpone added a lovely richness to it as well and the raspberry flavour was just right.
I’m sure you can already guess, but we loved our meal at Indian Essence and as I said we only wish it was our local. The service is polished, the prices (especially the set menus) are very well priced and the food – well it’s quite frankly all so delicious. The restaurant itself isn’t exactly in the centre of London but if you’re out in the suburbs, craving Indian cuisine from a famous chef – you won’t find better. Would we come back? Yes!
NB: My meal was complimentary. All views are as always, my own. My views are not influenced by anyone other than my own palate and slightly poor eyesight.
